CT Rail

System map
Legend Springfield Massachusetts Connecticut in design Enfield Windsor Locks Windsor New London Hartford Niantic proposed in design West Hartford Old Saybrook proposed Newington Westbrook Berlin Clinton Meriden Madison Wallingford Guilford in design North Haven Branford New Haven State Street New Haven Union Station West Haven Milford Stratford Bridgeport Stamford This diagram: view talk edit

CT Rail, stylized as CTrail, is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: Shore Line East, between New Haven and New London, Connecticut, and the Hartford Line, from New Haven, through Hartford, to Springfield, Massachusetts.^[1]

Services are operated under contract, with Shore Line East operated by Amtrak along the Northeast Corridor, and the Hartford Line operated by a joint venture of TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts.^[2][3][4] CT Rail trains, along with other CTDOT rail operations, use the reporting mark CNDX.^[5]

Lines

CT Rail operates two commuter rail lines: the Hartford Line and Shore Line East.^[2] Both lines utilize portions of the Northeast Corridor, with most trains terminating at Union Station in New Haven.^[6]

Hartford Line

The Hartford Line runs between New Haven Union Station in New Haven and Springfield Union Station in Springfield. The line is a joint venture between the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).^[7] Service began on June 16, 2018. CT Rail Hartford Line tickets are also accepted on Amtrak's Hartford Line, however, the Vermonter inter-city service does not participate despite running along the same route.^[8] The majority of the Hartford Line's route is along the New Haven–Springfield Line, with two stations in New Haven, Union Station and State Street, being on the Northeast Corridor.^[6]

Shore Line East

CT Rail's Shore Line East commuter rail service runs between New London and New Haven, with limited service continuing onto Bridgeport and Stamford. When service initially started along the line on May 29, 1990, CT Rail commuter trains were intended to be a temporary measure in order to reduce congestion along Interstate 95 during a highway construction project. However, the service was made permanent due to more ridership than initially anticipated. The line has an average daily ridership of about 2,100 riders and runs along the Northeast Corridor for its entire length. Since May 2022, Shore Line East has used Kawasaki M8 electric multiple units to provide service on the line.

Rolling stock

Current

CT Rail uses the following rolling stock for its commuter rail operations: All Electric Multiple Unit cars are used on the electrified Shore Line East running on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor while locomotive hauled trains with passenger coaches are used on Amtrak's non-electrified Hartford Line. M8 electric cars are shared between Shore Line East and Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line.

Builder	Model	Photo	Active	Road numbers	Year built	Year Rebuilt	Year acquired	Notes
Locomotives
GE	P40DC		12	6700–6711	1993	2018–2024	2005, 2015	Ex-Amtrak.[9][10]
EMD	GP40-3H		6	6694–6699	1971[6]	2017-2019	1996[6]
Coaches
Mafersa	Coaches		33	1701–1719 (cab cars, odd numbers only) 1730–1774 (coach cars, even numbers only)	1991–1992	2004		Ex-Virginia Railway Express. Used for Hartford Line service
MBB	Coaches		16[11][12]	501, 503, 505, 508, 509, 516, 517, 522, 526, 527, 528, 532, 1505, 1509, 1518, 1520	1988[13]	2017–2018[11]		Leased from MBTA.[14][11]
Electric Multiple Units
Kawasaki	M8 Railcar		471	9100–9474	2011–2015, 2019–2022	N/A	2011–2022	Used for Shore Line East service

Future rolling stock

In August 2023, CTDOT approved a $315 million contract with Alstom for 60 single-level passenger cars. The cars will replace the existing coach fleet on the Hartford Line along with the Metro-North Waterbury Branch and Danbury Branch. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.^[15][16]

Map

See also

• Metro-North Railroad
• List of United States commuter rail systems by ridership
• Connecticut Commuter Rail Council

References